Captain Robert Heriot Barclay fought valiantly with Admiral Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar, before losing his left arm in another engagement in 1809. This didn’t stop his naval career though. He went on to lead the British fleet on the Great Lakes during the War of 1812.

His greatest claim to fame was his loss at the Battle of Lake Erie to Captain Oliver Hazard Perry. But he lost valiantly, even becoming friends with Perry afterwards. Most importantly, in the conflict he lost a leg and sustained enough nerve damage in his right arm to render it useless.

He wrote to his fiancée after the battle, attempting to break their engagement for her sake because of his injuries. She wrote back that if he had enough of his body to house his soul, she would still take him.